Mich. man driving wheelchair to White House for marijuana

TAYLOR, Mich., July 1 (UPI) -- A Michigan man with cerebral palsy said he is rolling his wheelchair to Washington in the hopes of talking to President Obama about medical marijuana.

Curtis Kile, 52, said he left his Taylor home June 14 on a mission to steer his motorized wheelchair to the White House for a chat with President Barack Obama about nationwide legalization of marijuana, a drug he said has been instrumental in his treatment, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.

Kile said Saturday in Hagerstown, Md., he is hoping to roll up to the White House and meet with Obama July 4.

The man's son, Curtis Kile Jr., 17, is serving as his support crew, driving a Ford Econoline van alongside his father's wheelchair.

Kile said the White House hasn't responded to any of his communication efforts, but he is hopeful that his journey will help his cause.

"The alcohol industry doesn't want it legal, and the pharmaceutical and the tobacco companies don't want that, because it's going to bite into their profits," he said. "It's the money that's stopping it, and that's wrong."